A point previously discussed on this website was the regularity with which early physical culturists promoted light weight training as opposed to heavy lifting. The reasons for this are numerous. In the first instance, light weightlifting is easier to promote to the general public than heavy weightlifting. It requires less equipment, can be done in… Continue reading Eugen Sandow on Heavy Weightlifting
It's difficult to elaborate on my bodybuilding philosophy. Bodybuilding has become such an integral part of my life that it's almost impossible for me to identify where the bodybuilding stops and the rest of my life starts. I think it's important initially to understand that bodybuilding is my life, and it has been my life… Continue reading Chris Dickerson’s Training Philosophy (1981)
"Wrap a band around your bicep until it begins to go numb, then pump out 30 reps with a light weight... Trust me, the pump is worth it." These are not the words of an enlightened man but rather my first experience of Kaatsu or Blood Restriction Training. Brought to my attention by a training… Continue reading The History of Kaatsu Training
It is sometimes desirable to specialize on one lift or exercise to the exclusion of all others. The reason for this is that you can direct all your energies and effort in one direction. This will enable you to make much faster progress and reach greater heights of strength and development than if you spread… Continue reading Peary Rader, ‘SPECIALIZING ON ONE EXERCISE FOR MAXIMUM GAINS’, THE RADER MASTER BODYBUILDER AND WEIGHT GAINING SYSTEM (1946)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcMOG0ECqDU Previously on this website, we have discussed the heavy duty training protocols of men like Mike Mentzer and Arthur Jones. The 'high intensity training' of Jones, Mentzer and Dorian Yates is perhaps the least understood style of training to grace the lifting world. Critics cite a lack of volume, incomplete workouts and too much… Continue reading Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty Training in Action
The greatest problem that faces the young bodybuilding enthusiast is that of gaining weight. It's usually this reason for taking up weight training in the first place. However, after the inevitable gain of a few pounds body-weight almost immediately the weight-training course has been embarked on, one finds further progress very slow. Each pound towards his… Continue reading 1970s Muscle Building Advice
A point previously discussed on this website was the regularity with which early physical culturists promoted light weight training as opposed to heavy lifting. The reasons for this are numerous. In the first instance, light weightlifting is easier to promote to the general public than heavy weightlifting. It requires less equipment, can be done in… Continue reading Eugen Sandow on Heavy Weightlifting
This very popular lift is a good exercise for all round development and an excellent method of weight gaining if properly performed for this purpose. It is probably the most strenuous of all exercises and therein lies its value as a stimulator of metabolism and a weight gaining medium. Much the same principles of procedure are used as in the squat or… Continue reading Peary Rader, ‘The Clean and Jerk Program for Weight Gaining’, THE RADER MASTER BODYBUILDER AND WEIGHT GAINING SYSTEM (1946)
Though few exercise programmes maintain a venerated status for long in the Iron Game, the mystique surrounding 20 Rep Squat programmes has endured. As hinted by the name, such programmes require lifters to back squat twenty times before unloading the bar, and in my own experience, lying on the ground questioning your decision-making. Primarily touted… Continue reading The History of 20 Rep Squats
Take it from the pros, splitting is the way go. Full-body training, provided that the intensity is high and the routine is good, can produce some amazing results, but splitting lets you get more from less: more results from a shorter period of time spent in the gym. If you had to train all your… Continue reading ‘Basic Split Training’, Animal Owner’s Manual (New Jersey, 2010), 14
